


Rejecting the Gods

by slytherindramaqueen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 08:11:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17956853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slytherindramaqueen/pseuds/slytherindramaqueen
Summary: Hermione, the kingdom’s princess, starts to show signs of magical abilities. The royal sorcerer, Lucius Malfoy isn’t keen to teach her, but his son Draco, being discovered as a magic practitioner himself, is about to begin lessons of his own.





	Rejecting the Gods

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:**
> 
>  
> 
> High Fantasy AU: The kingdom’s princess shows signs of magic potential. The royal sorcerer isn’t keen to teach her, but his son also being of age is about to begin lessons of his own.

**_Rejecting the Gods_ **

She had not wanted to learn the secret arts of magic wielding. Not at first, at least. The princess was not interested in hearing out Sorcerer Malfoy, the last magic possessor of the Grand Capital. He wasn’t as old as his name seemed to imply. Mid-forties, Princess Hermione thought. He had pale blond hair that was longer than hers, his face screaming aristocracy. Rumor has it he was a very rich man but he barely spent a penny in anything less than necessary. He had nice robes though.

Silk must be a necessity, then.

She half smiled, laughing at her own joke that no one would ever listen to. No one ever listened to her.

Hermione was the first born of the late King James, but because she was a woman she wasn’t eligible for the throne. Her half-brother, Prince Harry, was set to become King in a couple of months, at his twenty five joyday.

She didn’t really care. She didn’t want to be Queen, but she loathed the fact that if her desire was to be the queen, she couldn’t be by such ridiculous outdated laws.

That was why she needed to learn magic. If she weren’t royalty, her uncle would never give her the option to study. Only boys were allowed to prepare for sorcery, if they had it in them.

What an unfair, misogynistic place she lived in! And they had the audacity to call it a modern city, ha!

A knock in her door interrupted her trail of thought.

“Come in,”

It was her brother.

Prince Harry was a very attractive young man; at least that’s what every female eligible to marry said in every royal function she had attended over the course of the year before. Lady Daphne, from Occamy, always said this to her over and over every time one is visiting the other. She was head over heels with her brother.

She smiled at him. He was just Harry, the one unconditional person she had in her life.

“Aren’t you scared?” he had asked her a few days back. “You’re going to live with two strangers that you’ve barely paid any mind at events.”

“That doesn’t concern me. If they do anything to me, they’ll get beheaded.”

He stood in front of her. She was packing for her stay with Sorcerer Malfoy and his son. The people barely saw her outside the castle so no formal announces on her leaving were going to be said. If anyone asked about her being, his uncle’s best friend and his right hand, Remus had come with a smart lie that anyone would buy (although it makes her look as vain). Officially, Princess Hermione was travelling to the enchanted water fountains for a skin treatment.

She rolled her eyes at that and kept getting ready. Because these lessons were a secret to, also, the royal council, she had to look like a peasant. And she did, sort of.

The modern fashion was a thing to behold. Although the human population didn’t want to do anything with magical creatures, they sure inspired their clothes from them.

Most women these days wore swift, lights as feathers dresses with golden belts that reminded Hermione to the Sylphs’ attire. The men, in exchange, wore cloaks and capes which fabrics looked a tad too similar to the dragons’ scales or Salamanders’ speckled skin. His dear brother was wearing a similar outfit at the moment. Fake, of course, as the hunting and killing of dragons and salamanders had been forbidden decades ago, although but no one had seen one of the latter in over a century.

Many species of magical creatures still existed of course, but the Crown only held formal relations with the ones that had with a magical core yet couldn’t do magic on their own. Centaurs, pixies, unicorns, giants and many others were considered non-dangerous and adequate to make business and connections.

The ones that were forbid to interact with were the elementals: the Sylphs, the Undines, the Gnomes and the Salamanders.

Each elemental was able to control one element: air, water, earth and fire, respectively. They were the only creatures that had the ability to do magic. Special humans, nevertheless, appeared once in a while that could control some of the elements as well. No one was very sure how it happened. No more than a few with each generation got them and the ones that did are outcast by their people, too afraid of the unknown.

Hermione was wearing a blue cloak, the front finishing by her hips and the back falling above her calves. The cloak also had a hood that hid her face and hair well enough. She was wearing a pair of trousers as well, an item of clothing that the only ones who wore them were men until the Magic Wars ended and most of them perished. That’s when female hunters and workers started to appear, wearing the same as a man and doing the same job a man does.

Outrageous at first, it soon became a fashion and a rebel statement from the female population that wanted equal rights and freedom. Princess Hermione solely agreed.

She put the hood on and saw herself in the mirror.

“Well, brother of mine,” she gave him a side glance, “how do I look?”

Harry grimaced. “Like a wild huntress.”

She smiled, contempt with herself. She took her bag, full with clothes and personal items. It was time.

 

 

The town’s market was full of people that day, as most days but today seemed as if the whole capital was crowding the streets.

Lucius Malfoy, the city’s only alive magic practitioner, lived in a secluded, very dark manor outside the high streets. One would think that Mr. Malfoy would live close to the other socialites but no, he liked living all by himself.

Her uncle, King Regent Sirius, said to her once that since the sorcerer’s wife, Narcissa, perished from a rare disease he hasn’t gone out unless the King orders him to. His son, Draco, was the same age as the prince; he had run an apothecary along with his best friend, a young man named Neville Longbottom. It had been a successful business until the people found out Draco had inherited his father’s abilities.

They were scared.

Deep down, Hermione feared. If word came out of her magic, she would be rejected by everyone. Hermione was not a social butterfly, but she had enough friends that were just too close-minded.

The Manor was big, dark and a bit scary. It was not the only house on sight, yet there were barely any pedestrians. She could see some kids peeking from around the block, probably daring each other to knock on the door. She giggled. She guessed she could show them.

The closer she got however, more resistance was found. _A barrier_ , she thought. Some kind of invisible wall that protected the place, so unwanted visitors couldn’t enter the perimeters.

“Well, I know I’m not wanted, but I certainly am expected.” she said to no one.

“ _Ugh, fine._ ” A raspy voice agreed. Hermione jumped and searched around her for…anyone, really. Was it only in her head? “ _Don’t get spooked, your Majesty, the wards had been up just for you so do please enter already._ ”

Hermione looked for the kids she saw earlier but they were gone. A loud screech stole her attention and she gasped. The grand wooden doors were opening up, by themselves. A single man, with black robes and a cane, was waiting for her inside.

“Are you coming or not? We need to get started.” Sorcerer Malfoy, most likely, raised his eyebrow at her and challenged her. Oh, it was on. She stepped inside the Manor and didn’t look back.

 

Non-magical humans just couldn’t understand. They could never understand, Draco thought, the goose bumps and the chills one gets when magic travels through you. The first time that happened to him, he was eleven. Not every magic user gets their powers at that age; some of them (like her majesty) got them at an older age. It’s not a science someone has studied, magic been sort of a taboo for people for centuries.

His father, Lord Lucius, was the only sorcerer in Diricawl for over twenty years until his son, Draco, revealed his powers to the town, not on purpose. He had been a real hero that day, but no one congratulated him.

They would never understand.

Princess Hermione wasn’t an actual pain in the arse. He and his father really thought she would be a whiny little royal that wouldn’t care about actually learning. Draco had been wrong.

The moment the girl stepped into their house, she had been a force to reckon with. She was there to stay. Draco could still feel their first lesson together on his bones, and muscles.

It had been after dinner. According to his father, best time to practice magic was at night, figures why. They had eaten in silence and then reunited in the third floor’s garden. There was no ceiling on that one.

A clear sky and the full moon awaited them.

“I welcome you, formally now, my princess.” She nodded. “My name’s Lucius, the King must have already filled you with enough details of my existence.”

Draco chuckled.

“With that out of the table, I’d liked to begin our first lesson. First thing I need to know, your Majesty, do you know your blessings?”

She frowned. “Blessings?”

“Dear Sylphs, help me.” Draco complained. “You don’t even know what a blessing is. Have you been living under a rock all these years?”

“I’m sorry, your High Prick, but I _just_ learned I could do magic. Forgive me for being a complete ignorant on terminologies I’m supposed to learn here.”

“Ignorant is the key word here.”

“Hey!”

“Enough.” Lucius’s face was stoic but his upper lip was slightly sneering, which showed his impatience. “Draco, the royal princess has never had any contact with magic users before, don’t be arrogant.”

He turned his attention to the aristocrat, leaving his son sulking.

“A blessing is how you call the nature of your powers. I, for instance, am blessed on water, air and fire. Draco, for now, is blessed on only water. He, being my son, will develop the fire and air blessing at some point of his life, most likely.”

“Why is that?” she asked.

“Blessings are hereditary, not every descendant has them but if they have one, they’re bound to have another one if an ancestor had more than one blessing.”

“So, princess, what’s your blessing or do you even have one?”

Hermione’s eyes narrowed and anger crossed her face. She lifted her right hand and with a swift movement, a gust of wind knocked him over, landing a few meters from where he used to be.

 “Whoa!” Draco screamed.

He looked up and saw her smirking. She was bold enough to gloat!

“Huh, the dirt suits you, who would’ve thought?”

That was it! He was going to retaliate but his father intervened, right on cue.

“Only air so far, I suppose?” She nodded. “It’s okay. An average sorcerer has two blessings, a powerful one has three and it’s a rarity if one has the four elements at their disposal.”

“I could have three or four, you don’t know that,” she teased.

Lucius actually smiled this time around. “If you indeed had them, your Highness, I’d pledge my alliance to you in a heartbeat.”

“You can call me Hermione, sir,” she assured him.

The old man stuttered. “I don’t believe that’s wise.”

Hermione’s eyes softened. “For the first time in my life, I am free to do whatever I want, how short or long this stay will be, and I’m not going to waste it on small travesties and ridiculous titles. You can call me by given name, sir.”

Lucius nodded at her.

Draco, back on his feet, raised his hand. “What about me, then? How am I supposed to call you?”

She gave him a glance, her eyes meeting his for the first time since she got there. Her eyes were deep dark brown. They reminded him of chocolate, the woods and something else entirely too close to home. “ _You_ can call me princess.”

 

Hermione would never admit it in front of Draco or his father, but she actually was beginning to enjoy her time at Malfoy Manor. The place wasn’t as huge as the royal castle, but it was still big. There were servants that you barely saw, but they were efficient in their jobs; they handled the cleaning and dusting, the cooking and serving. Hermione, however, had wanted to learn a few tricks.

Besides having lessons with Draco and his father, she had been shadowing (in complete secrecy) an older man, but young in spirit caretaker named Dobby. He had been teaching how to cook the easiest meals, to wash her clothes and to clean her own messes. Hermione wanted to be independent, for once in her life.

The strangest sensations had invaded her a few months prior, that maybe she would need to learn how to be so.

“Princess!” Draco called. “Dinner’s ready and we did your favorite!” A smack was heard and a shout of pain after. “Fine, fine, _Dobby_ did it, but I helped!”

She smiled. At least there was someone trying to make her laugh.

 

As days, weeks and months passed, Draco couldn’t stop looking at her. The Princess was nothing how he pictured her. His father never liked the royals, not even when he had to interact with them on a regular basis, not even when Mother was alive. So, Draco always had an unsympathetic look on anyone who owned a crown. But Hermione was…she was the opposite. She was fierce, knowledge hungry, ready to learn and to fight, always there to show her worth. That only showed how little she was appreciated at the castle.

It’s funny, he thought, the more she stayed with them, the more he could see his father’s attitude change. He was no longer broody _all the time_ (his broodiness had always been part of his personality), he had even laughed a few times since she arrived. Lucius was even listening to him more. He was being more his father than he had been for the last couple of years.

And it was all because of her. Hermione of Diricawl, the capital city of the Kingdom of Hogwarts. She was a shooting star.

Draco couldn’t help staring at her, that’s how he noticed.

It wasn’t very easy to spot at first. A smile was always on her face, so you couldn’t see her hesitation. She was bored. Not when they were receiving their lessons, she was never bored in those. Draco smiled at that. It was before or after them. She had nothing to do. She had read almost every book on magic she could find in the library, she had walked on every surface of the Manor, learned any secret hallways, dark alcoves and hidden passages. And dear Salamander, there were tons of them.

He had also noticed she had been washing her own clothing. When he asked the head housekeeper, she said the princess had decided to do her own cleaning weeks ago! How preposterous, she exclaimed.

Draco could understand her state of mind. King Sirius had said she could not get out for the sake of her, if she were to be seen in town, rumors would surface and she would be on her own and she was not ready.

Hermione was sitting on the stairs in front of their usual lesson spot. She was looking at nowhere, thinking of something. He was scared. He looked at the sun, it was almost nine in the morning, and his father had said the night before, at supper that he would be gone for the whole day. Draco wasn’t sure but he could swear his father gave him _a look_.

A knowing look saying, ‘this is your chance, boy’.

None of the servants were in sight. It was the perfect day, the perfect moment. He had to. She needed it.

He had heavy steps, he knew it, and so he knew she could hear him approaching. Hermione gave him one curious look; he kneeled in front of her and whispered softly.

“Do you want to get out of here for the day?” A side of his mouth lifted, showing her some support.

“What? Are you sure?” She shook her head. “My uncle said…”

“I don’t want to be an arse, your Highness, but who gives a bloody fuck on what your dear uncle said? Let’s go have some fun.”

Draco was taking her out of there, either she wanted it or not. Because he knew she did, she just followed the rules too much. It was time he showed her that, sometimes, some rules are meant to be broken in the most glorious ways possible.

His hand around her wrist, he kept her close to him. Draco was surprised she was actually following him. That made him smile; she did want this, he thought. He gave so many turns and swirls that she could’ve gotten lost if she hadn’t memorized the entire house within the first fortnight of her stay.

He chuckled silently at that.

Few more turns later, they got to their first stop: the tunnels.

“Wait,” her eyes were wide open, “I read about this somewhere. The whole kingdom had a net of secret tunnels, that’s how the armies surrounded all the important point at the Magic Wars. And one is below your house?” She kept rambling about the importance on history accuracy.

 “Calm down, Hermione, geez. You know, if you read it in a book, it is public knowledge.” He rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his neck.

She had already opened the gate and put one foot on the old stairs.

“I’m just saying, Draco, I’d feel happier if I knew someone else knew about the existence of these passages, but as long as you’re not trying to kill me here. Or worse.” She gave him a side-glance. He followed her in their decent.

“Please, as if I want to enrage your dear brother.”

“My dear brother would smash you to pieces.”

“He could try.”

“He would!”

“Five words, Princess: No magic from his part.” At this, they landed on the tunnels.

Hermione had read about them on a book from the Manor’s library. She had been right, not a lot of people knew they existed. Not even the crown.

It was pitch dark, lanterns were supposed to be hanging on each side of the tunnels. Draco gave a deep inhale, slowly letting the air from his lungs go, he smacked his fingers together and a strong flame of fire erupted from his fingers. With a smile on his face, he sent it straight to were the lanterns were. It worked. The flame lighted one, then two, three and more and more, while travelled through the tunnels.

Hermione was surprised. “Wow! Does your father know you developed the fire blessing yet?” She was actually beaming of excitement, he noticed.

“I haven’t told him yet. I wanted to show you first.” He bumped her shoulder and walked ahead.

He could hear the smirk in her voice as she said, “That was impressive.”

“Aren’t my skills better than your brother’s?”

“At magic, sure, but his sword skills are superb and I’ve never seen you with one on your belt.”

“Hey, I may not use a sword now, but before you knew me I was first place at the local championships. I’m no indifferent to fencing.”

That kept her mouth shut for a while. “Harry is one of the best sword holders across the kingdom.”

“Of course he is! He is a Prince! He has the chance to compete across cities!”

Draco was mad now. He was taking her out of her misery and that’s how she repaid him? Mentioning that her good-at-everything brother was also better than him?

“…Sorry. You’re right; Harry has had advantages that the rest of town hasn’t. It’s not fair to you, or to anyone, for me to mention them.”

Draco admitted, it was nice hearing her saying he was right. Of course he was.

They stayed in silent for the rest of the way, until they got out of the tunnels. They found another gate that let them to the outside, where a horse waited for them.

Hermione shrieked and went to pet it. “How is this girl waiting for us here?”

“How do you know it’s a she?” Draco looked baffled.

“I was raised in a castle, Draco. You learn a thing or two there, you know?”

“I bet.” Her chestnut curls shined through the sunlight gleam. Since she lived with them, she had to let her hair down so it would hide her face and she wasn’t use to hide herself. But Draco loved seeing her like that. “I sent a message last night to a friend, they arranged it probably.”

Hermione stopped petting the horse. “Last night? You’ve been planning this ordeal since last night?” She sounded surprised, which made Draco’s cheeks to burn.

“Yeah, I mean,” again, Draco scratched the back of his neck, “you’ve been down lately and I wanted to cheer you up. That’s all.”

“Oh,” was all she said.

Draco was sure his face was reddened of embarrassment. The horse neighed. “We should go, if we want to get there before one.”

“Where are we going?”

Draco hopped on the horse, ready to offer his hand for Hermione to take, but she was already on the horse behind him. Figures, Draco thought. He galloped, running at full speed.

“Promise me something,” she said in his ear.

He turned his head to look at her. “Anything.”

“When we return, you’ll let me ride her.”

He chuckled, again silently. Only this time, Hermione’s arms were around his waist and could feel the vibrations of his chest. Her face was pressed against his shoulder. She smiled.

The sun was at its highest peak when Hermione said again, “After all this time and you still haven’t tell me where we are going.”

The horse was slowing down. “The only place no one in their right minds would willingly go,” Hermione was puzzled, “the beach.”

She pressed her chin on his shoulder to give him a glance. She held him tighter and a shout of joy escaped her lips. She had never been near a beach. No one ever did. Bodies of water were normally avoided by humans because they were surrounded by magical creatures. Not all magical creatures are considered dangerous nor taboo, but people still didn’t want the chance to get close to Undines. Naiads and mermaids are the most common on water folk. The first protect any kind of bodies of freshwater, while mermaids are the brides of the sea.

Although other kinds of Naiads exist, they were not considered to be Elementals, because they can’t control the water. They breathe and live underwater yet they can’t move it on their command. Therefore, they were considered non-dangerous creatures.

Hermione had always wanted to see an Undine. They were said to be only female and the most beautiful beings ever existing. At that, the princess had a thought.

“You said a friend of yours arranged the horse and now we’re going to the beach. Is your friend an Undine?” Her voice dropped an octave by every word she spoke.

“Yeah, she’s a good friend. Her name’s Luna.”

Hermione’s lips pressed into a line. Of course the surely gorgeous creature was named by the moon.

“You okay, Hermione?”

“Yes. I was just thinking.”

They came to a stop and hopped off the horse. Hermione frowned. A line of tall trees separated them from the sand and the breeze from the ocean. From where they stood, Hermione could smell the salty air but she could barely see anything because of the green barrier.

“This looks like a wall,” she said.

Draco was tying up the horse to one of the trees, so it wouldn’t go away. “It is one.”

She bit her lower lip, understanding. “We did this,” she muttered. From the back of her eye, Hermione could see his companion quietly nodding.

“Let’s go.”

The path of trees wasn’t long, but Hermione wasn’t very coordinated when it came to unbalanced pathways so she walked slowly, giving her the idea of a long time had passed.

With her eyes focused on her feet so she would not fall, she asked him. “Is she a mermaid?” He nodded. “How did you meet her?”

“Do you know how commoners knew I was a sorcerer?” Hermione shook her head. “I saved a kid. A toddler was playing on the side on the main square’s fountain. The mother left him unattended for a second. He fell and stayed under water enough time to almost drown. When they got him out, his lungs were brim in water. They wouldn’t have saved him. So I…”

“You took the water out with magic,” she finished. “And instead of rewarding you and patting you on the back, everyone was afraid.”

Draco stopped on his tracks to stare at her. She stopped too. “I knew you were smart, princess.”

Hermione wanted to hug him; she really did, but convinced herself that it wasn’t a good idea.

“Anyway, after that, I came to this shore. Water always gave me a sense of peace, it soothed me.” He sighed, and Hermione felt a pang on her heart, feeling his sorrow.

Draco kept walking. “Not everything was bad, though. While coming here, I studied the waves. The rhythm, the movement, all called me in a way I couldn’t explain and one day, she just appeared near the rocks.”

“Is she pretty?” Hermione asked on a whim. She immediately regretted it.

Draco heard a tiny bit of annoyance in her voice. He didn’t laugh, but his eyes were full of enjoyment.

“She’s blond, her eyes are blue, and she’s a bit small for a mermaid so I guess you could say that.”

Hermione groaned. She was pissed although she hadn’t meant to show it. She was about to retort when she misplaced one of her feet, twisting her ankle and almost falling to the ground. She didn’t, of course. Draco caught her immediately, his hands on her hips steadying her.

Their faces were inches apart. She saw his lips, then his eyes, his lips again and she knew. He kissed her. Draco’s hands were still on her hips, holding her. Her fingers caressed his neck and chin.

Draco’s lips were soft; he was taking his time on exploring. His tongue hadn’t even entered her mouth and she already wanted more. His breath tasted like apple juice. She didn’t like apples, yet she liked the smell on him.

She gasped for air and Draco pulled apart. For a second, she tried to pull him  back. His hands were still on her sides.

“She’s like a sister.”

“What?” Hermione felt disoriented.

“Luna. She’s like a sister to me”, he repeated, “hell, she even looks like me. You, on the other hand, you’re not. So don’t feel like that.”

“Like what?” She wasn’t following.

“Don’t be jealous. You have nothing to be jealous about.”

Hermione could’ve choked on her own saliva at that moment. She snapped out of his embrace and kept walking, straight to the beach. Her walk was steady this time around, as if the ground was accommodating on her feet.

Draco looked smug.

 

When they entered the beach, Hermione forgot for moment what had just happened and enjoyed the view. Tears fell from her eyes. It was beautiful. If she thought hard enough, she could remember the feeling of cold water on her toes and sand on her skin. Yet, this was the first time seeing the ocean. And it was the most exquisite scene to behold.

A feeling of longing spread through her body and didn’t leave for a while.

Was that how it felt? She thought. Was this true loneliness?

In an instant, Draco was beside her and she wiped away her tears before he could see them. It was too late though; he saw the puffiness in her cheeks but said nothing.

Out of nowhere, a women in a red gown appeared.

Draco had been right, she looked a lot like him. Her hair was the same shade of blond as his, her eyes were shinier than his but still the same colour. She looked cheerful and happy, unlike her lessons partner. And yes, she was a beauty, although she had legs.

“I thought you were a mermaid.” Hermione couldn’t resist saying when the girl was close enough for her to hear.

“Oh, I am. We have the ability to transform into full human shape when in shore.” She flashed a smile and waved. “I’m Luna; it’s nice to meet you.”

She was a delight.

“I’m Hermione. I love what you’re wearing.”

As Luna got closer, she could notice her skin was covered in golden lines that resembled lightning strikes. The girl was wearing a long skirt that touched the sand and a light top, all red. No shoes.

“Thank you! I love your hair, it’s so different from what I’m used to seeing.”

Hermione was taken by surprise. “Oh, are all mermaids blondes?”

“Most of them, yeah. Some even have white hair; it’s a rarity to see brown or black hair at the bottom.”

That piece of information felt valuable to Hermione, all the books she read about elementals for the past months and none said something about that. It was her opportunity to learn so much.

Her head snapped to Draco, he was smiling at her.

So that was his plan all along, huh. Sneaky dragon.

“C’mon, let’s seat near the ocean and I can show you some tricks!” Luna exclaimed.

Mermaids tend to be very playful, Draco explained to her later, and Luna was a real expert when it came to water magic.

They joined her near the waves. Luna’s feet were touching the water but she had not changed.

“Can you change on command?” Hermione asked at seeing this.

“Oh yes. I could have legs in water but I decide not to, tails are better for swimming.” Luna smiled.

Hermione sat beside her. Draco excused himself, leaving the two girls alone. She saw him leaving, he was smiling. She could tell.

“It must be nice to have a soul. How does it feel?” Luna asked her suddenly.

A soul? “Okay, I guess. What do you mean it must be nice? You don’t have one?” she asked, massaging her ankle.

Luna’s face contorted. That was the saddest Hermione had seen her all day.

“Elementals don’t have souls. A price to pay for the magic we have. Even humans like you, the blessed, don’t have the amount of power we do. That’s why you have yours. And magical creatures don’t have our amount of magic so they don’t get to lose theirs. But us, we are born without them.” She smiled, sadly.

“Can’t you gain one?”

“There’s a way!” Luna’s excitement didn’t last long, as she got sad again. “But it’s impossible now, forbidden.”

“What is it?”

“For an elemental to gain a soul, we have to marry a human.”

That surprised Hermione. An elemental married to a human was unheard of.

“I know.” Luna agreed to her silent statement. “It’s been centuries since the last inter-races marriage. Crazy, right? Wanting something you can’t have?”

No, Hermione thought. “It’s not,” she actually said. “I always want something I can’t have.”

“Like Draco.” Luna said.

Hermione stayed still. The mermaid giggled.

“It’s okay.” She closed the space between them and whispered. “He wants you too.”

The mermaid laughed again, stared at the ocean and with a flick of her head, water covered Hermione’s foot. She yelped; it was cold.

“What are you doing?”

“You were hurting. And this will fix it.”

Hermione stared at her foot, covered in water. Then, Luna’s hand hold it, she was breathing slowly and murmuring something under her breath. Her golden lines were also shining.

The mermaid stopped, the water dropped. Her ankle didn’t hurt anymore.

“That was…”

“Insane, right? Don’t worry, you’ll learn to do it in no time.”

“What? I’m not water blessed.”

Luna looked at her confused. “Maybe not yet, but I sense it in you.”

“You can do that?”

“All Elementals can sense if a human has been blessed. It’s part of our power.” Luna, again, smiled. She was full of those.

They spent the entire afternoon talking anything and everything, both of the girls learning about the other’s world. Draco appeared again when it was time to go. It had been a lovely day but so tiresome she forgot she wanted to ride the horse back home.

 

She was leaving.

Her uncle had called for her to come back. Her training wasn’t yet finished but if she was asked, she needed to answer. She didn’t want to come back. They learned the news when they got back from their little trip to the sea. What a way to finish a beautiful day!

Lucius had already asked for her stuff to be packed and sent. She would be leaving in the morning.

Draco was livid.

When Hermione went to her chambers, he followed his father to his study. He locked the door and dramatically turned to face him. Lucius sat still.

“How could you let the King take her away?! She’s not ready!”

“I have no place to argue against our ruler, Draco. I don’t want to start a fight.” Lucius said calmly.

“I am! I’ll start a fight, a war against that good for nothing if he thinks he can take her away from me!”

Lucius dropped whatever he held on his hand and stood. “You’re fire blessed.”

That’s when Draco noticed his arms were on fire. Concentrating, he extinguished the flames and inspected the damage. His skin wasn’t burned, but the sleeves of his jacket and shirt were beyond salvation.

His father sighed. “I can’t help you, son, if you don’t tell me what’s going on with you. This is exactly what you did when you find out you were water blessed. You didn’t tell me and you got hatred from the rest of town.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you, we would’ve started the lessons and someone would’ve found out!”

 “They found out anyway!”

“At least I spent over a decade as a normal child instead of a freak!” Draco exclaimed, rage tears dropping down his chin.

Lucius looked defeated, for the first time in a very long time. He joined his son and hugged him.

“You’re not a freak, Draco.”

He cried.

“You have never been a freak. People are just ignorant. They hate what they can’t understand. That doesn’t mean you are in the wrong, it just means you have to work harder for what you want.” He held his son’s face in his hands and smiled at him. “You’re a fighter, Draco, don’t ever forget that.”

“I love her.”

Lucius sighed again. “I know, son. I know.”

He kept crying.

 

Hermione was back at the castle and Harry was waiting for her at the gates. Oh, how she had missed him. At her reach, she closed the gap between them and hugged him. It was nice to be back near the familiarity of his arms.

“I missed you.” He said to her.

“I missed you more.”

“Liar.”

She let him go. “Where’s uncle?” Harry stopped smiling.

“He said he was sorry but there were some immediate concerns he had to run.”

“Nothing serious, I hope.”

“No, probably not. Come on, let’s go talk.”

The siblings went to their favorite place in the whole castle, an astronomy tower that no one ever used anymore. Decades ago, when humans and creatures still got along, a centaur would have used this place to read the stars and learn of the future. Now, it was empty, the perfect place for mischievous kids to play.

They sat on the verge of the window and looked at the city. Diricawl had been a blooming city, so long ago, now the economy decreased while the crime increased more and more every year. It was also a sad city, and it wasn’t the only one. The rest of cities at Hogwarts kingdom had the same issues.

 “Uncle hasn’t been good.” Harry started.

“Is he ill?”

“No, he isn’t. His behavior however, has been quite erratic lately. Honestly Hermione, since your little air outburst at dinner he’s been going a bit mad.”

Hermione frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He’s been having secret meeting once every week. They’ve been planning something and they still haven’t included me. I’m supposed to take charge in a few months but I know nothing of what’s been going on in there.”

His brother’s face fell. He was angry, sad, but mostly relieved he could tell something about this.

“I’m sorry I had to go.” She reached for his hand and took it.

He smiled. “It’s not your fault. Your magic is something you needed to learn how to keep in check, and I suppose you have.”

“I have. Not all of it since I came before I was supposed to.” There was resentment in her voice. “But I mastered a lot. I can do things that I never knew they were possible.”

“How does it feel?” Harry asked. “Does it feel good?”

Hermione shivered, it was starting to get chilly. “It’s hard to explain. It’s as if…”, she remembered Luna and her markings, “…a bolt of lightning ran through your veins and you can feel the energy within you and use it. It’s phenomenal. It’s…”

“Magical.” Harry finished.

She nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“Can you show me?”

She wholeheartedly smiled. “Of course.”

With her back straight and eyes focused, Hermione moved her arms in an ongoing circular move. While doing so, a small tornado formed around them, first small, it started to grow until it almost touched the ceiling. She stopped, sending the wind away, breaking all the windows in the process.

“Whoa!” Harry burst out laughing, “That was insane.”

“And that’s not even the best I can do.” Hermione remembered then one of her private lessons with Lucius.

 _Air carries sounds_ , he had said, _that’s how you were able to hear me the first time you came here. I sent you a message through the air. It’s a very difficult trick, but you’re a natural on this so I’m sure you’ll master it fast._

Hermione jumped.

“I have an idea!”

 

“This is a bad idea, Hermione.” Her brother kept saying. “We’re going to get so much trouble for this; I can already hear it from Remus.”

“Close your mouth, I need to focus.”

This exercise, explained Lucius, was more of concentration than hand movement. Hermione wasn’t supposed to move, she would only need to breathe in and out. And have faith.

King Sirius was having, as they waited, another of his private meetings. They were in one of the many suites that were never used, but fortunately next to the room where the meeting was been held.

“We’re going to get so busted. I haven’t been whipped in a very long time but I bet this is what’ll happen. Future King Harry still gets physically reprimanded, is what the papers will say tomorrow morning.”

“Shut. Up. Mother Undines, help me right now so my brother can keep quiet.”

“Since when do you use elemental curses?” Harry asked, curious.

She smiled. “It’s just something I caught on recently.”

Hermione closed her eyes again. Slow breathes, in and out. In and out. In and out. With every in, a wind would come to her and with every out, the message would be heard by her and Harry.

In.

Out.

_It’s dangerous. Sylphs are one of the most powerful elementals out there._

In.

Out.

_She’s a menace. She could get us all killed. Did you see what she did to the crystals at the tower?_

In.

Out.

I _f anyone finds out what she is and what she’s capable of, they’ll ask for her head. And if we challenge her, she could kill us all. So, we get rid of them, all of them, all the Elementals._

****

She developing her powers turned his uncle into a frenzied state. That was why she had kept her out of the castle, out of his reach. He did not want her to know he was scared. He was scared of her and her kind.

Because she was different, she already knew that.

She was powerful and strong and could easily take away his crown. That was his true reason for this.

Hermione had been wrong all this time about uncle Sirius. He wanted the crown; he wanted the power, the throne. But he did not want the gods, and with them she came along.

He wanted to exterminate them all.

No more elementals or blessed or creatures.

No, not if she could help it, he wouldn’t.

When Hermione opened her eyes, Harry’s face told her he had heard everything. He looked at her, pleading.

“Don’t go.” They were brothers, almost twins; he would know her immediate thoughts on the matter. “Please don’t go, Hermione.”

“They’ll kill me if I don’t. I need to go and, oh, Draco needs to go. I need to warn him. Harry! I need to warn Draco.”

Hermione was out of the room in a rush. She needed to write him! No, that could he intercepted. No, she needed to talk with him in person.

She got to her room and started making a bag.

Another person followed through the door. Harry.

She turned to see him.

“What do you need me to do?”

She smiled. “I need you to bring him here.”

 

Draco had been a few days without Hermione and he was cranky already. Although he and his father had tried to savage their restrained relationship, Lucius Malfoy hadn’t had enough patience for his temperament. Neville, on the other hand, was a patient man, but he had limits.

“Can you please stop weeping? We have orders to fulfill.”

Their apothecary, Longbottom’s, hadn’t suffered from Draco’s falling out of society. Nobody knew he had anything to do with the business, as he sensed something like that may happen and he didn’t damage his friend’s income. Neville was married and soon to be a father.

“I’m not weeping. I’m sulking. There’s a difference.”

“Whatever. Ms. Zabini needs that salve for tomorrow or she will stop paying.”

Draco nodded.

Someone entered the shop. Neville went fast to serve the client. He didn’t last long before he shouted Draco’s name to come out.

Prince Harry, future king, was in their shop.

This was not good.

“Your Majesty,” he started, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I need to talk with you, in private.”

Draco buffed. “Well, as you may see, I’m quite busy. _We_ are quite busy, so I’m sorry to say you’ll have to wait, Your Highness.”

The tension in the air was palpable that even Neville, who’s mostly clueless in situations like this, knew that something was wrong. “Uh, mate, I think you should talk to the prince. Let’s close early; I need to see Hannah anyway. Yep, I’m leaving. Buh-bye.”

The door closed and they were alone.

“My sister made me come.”

Draco tried to listen.

“It’s important.”

But his ego was interfering with the listening part.

“Oh, for the love of…! She needs you, alright?” Harry snapped. “She hasn’t said it, but it’s pretty safe to say that she misses you in many ways she was never missed me, and that’s something I’d never wanted to learn from my sister, trust me.” His hand rested on his sword and Draco grimaced, remembering his conversations with Hermione on that matter.

“And what you’re trying to say exactly here is?”

Harry sighed. “What I’m trying to say is that something really bad is going to happen to you and your people if we don’t do something.”

“You mean the Elementals.”

“Yes, stop being a wanker and come with me. We don’t have much time.”

Draco started nodding and getting his stuff and stopped for a moment. “Wait, why does she need me though?”

The prince was very exasperated by this point. “Because, she trusts you and knows you and if you’re expecting another answer well, that I can’t give you. You should ask her. Let’s go! We’ll pass to your house to gather some of your clothing and stuff.”

Draco left Neville a note, saying he probably wouldn’t come back and needed to find a new partner. He was also sorry.

Arriving at home, Draco found no one.

Draco made his way to his private chambers, the prince following behind, and gathered a small bag with all important things for a trip. He was going to leave his father a note too when Lucius entered his room.

He was surprised, of course.

“Your Majesty, what do I owe this unexpected visit?” Lucius lifted his eyebrows at his son, questioning him.

“Mr. Malfoy, your son is need of his service.”

“To the crown?”

“To me and Hermione.” Harry stated.

Lucius stayed quiet. His gaze followed his son and his bag. “You’re leaving.”

“Yes,” he said.

“What’s going on?” Lucius asked, this time to Harry.

Harry stutters, unsure if he should trust him. But his sister does, he remembered. “The King plans to start a war on the Elementals, this time to end them.”

Something not a lot people are aware is that the first Magic Wars happened because greedy humans wanted to use the Elementals on their own accords, imprisoning them.

“He can’t do that.” Draco started, “the Elementals are gods that can be destroyed. But if they do, it’ll be our end as well.”

“That has always been the debacle with humans,” his father retorted, “rejecting the gods had always been their greatest power. I assume, Your Highness, that Hermione intends to stop your uncle.”

“With everything in her power.”

“Luckily for her, she has us. Son, let’s go.”

“What? Where are you going?”

“You two are mere children when it comes to magic. You’ll need me for the upcoming battle and mark my words, there will be a battle.”

 

Harry thought sneaking them in would be hard job, it wasn’t. It was bound to be an easy job when you had an old blessed as your companion. As an air user, Lucius levitated them to the Astronomy tower, where Hermione awaited them.

 “You couldn’t live too long without me, could you, princess?”

“Yes, Draco, I almost died without you!” she said sarcastically

Draco smirked, bumping her on the shoulder.

“I really missed you, Hermione.”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

“Can’t you stop flirting? We have no time to lose. Do you all have your stuff?” Lucius asked.

Hermione nodded, showing him a small bag, Draco too. They all were surprised when Harry turned out to have a bag hidden in the room full of clothes. The next five minutes involved a heavy discussion of the two siblings over whether Prince Harry was coming with them or not. The result was indecisive. Lucius made them stop, as they had more important things to do.

The plan was to confront their uncle and then leave. Lucius had other plans.

“You’re staying behind the door. I’m talking with the King. Don’t you dare interrupt, no matter what you hear.”

He made them promise, and he entered through the big oak doors.

“Lucius Malfoy, what are you doing here? How did you get in?” the King asked at seeing the unexpected visitor.

“No need to worry, my King. I entered in the most conventional ways, I assure you.” The man kept walking across the room, checking out the paintings and artifacts.

“Why are you here, Lucius?”

“You see, I heard a rumor, a rumor of you going against the elementals.”

“Why’s that important to you?” Sirius asked.

“I can’t allow it. You’ll only kill the rest of humankind of you intent on this ridiculous quest.”

“Ridiculous?” Sirius retorted. “The Elementals and any human with their powers is a liability to the world!”

Hermione shivered. Was she a liability?

“We both know what the real problem is, Sirius. We’ve been through this before. James’ death was an accident, a misfortunate accident.”

“Those creatures killed him! Salamanders…”

Harry’s eyes opened wide. Hermione held him against her.

“It didn’t happen the way you think! Everything was out of control.” Lucius assured him.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Lucius. It’s going to happen. With my niece by my side, we’ll understand more and more of this beings and how to destroy them. And there’s nothing you can’t do about it. Guards!”

From secret doors, men in armors surrounded Hermione, Draco and Harry, making them enter the study.

“Ah, my dear children, you’ve been here all along, of course. Along with the youngest Mr. Malfoy, I presume.” He pointed at the blond young man.

“Uncle…” Harry pleaded, “How can you say that? Using Hermione? She’s your niece, almost your daughter! What are you thinking?”

“What am I thinking? I’m trying to avenge my brother, your father! You should want this more than me, Harry, more now, when you’re about to become king.”

Hermione started at her brother, he looked conflicted. She took his hand and squeezed it. _Please, don’t leave me_ , she tried to transmit. Harry looked at her, at their joint hands and squeezed back. He backed up a smile.

He stared at their uncle again. “I’m not joining your secret agenda, Uncle.”

Sirius stayed quiet for a second, just to laugh at the next one.

“Oh well, this is going way better than expected. I can still be King, so there’s that. Guards, kill the blond ones and get the other ones to the dungeons.”

The guards took a step ahead but Lucius, with a swift move, send them all flying backwards. “Quick, leave!”

“Father!” Draco cried.

“Go, Draco, go.” A flame of fire appeared on Lucius’ hand and sent it straight to the King’s head. Sirius dodged on time. “You have to go; I won’t be able to hold them for long.”

“But…”

“We have to go.” Hermione said to him again.

Both siblings got Draco out of there and went to the closest exit.

The now three fugitives ran for their lives. There were three horses awaiting them outside the gates of the castle, Dobby holding them.

They were almost outside the castle when a row of guards, this time armed with bows and arrows, ready to shoot.

“This is bad, real bad.” Harry chanted. “You know, this is the moment for you to use one of your goddamn superpowers.”

At that, an arrow was shot, aiming at Hermione. She choked, trying to misdirection the arrow, it was too close. She could feel it piercing her skin. It didn’t though. Draco stepped in front of her, something setting in him. A giant flare of fire came out of all him, through the guards.

She stepped aside to see him.

“Damn.” She heard her brother saying.

Draco’s skin changed. He changed. He looked as a living volcano, black rock replacing his fair light skin, with red furrows where fire and lava came up. It was magnificent.

“Hey, watch out!” Harry screamed.

Again, arrows were coming at them, only this time all were aimed at Draco.

She didn’t think it through. Her heart had won the battle against her reason before anything. She put herself in front of Draco, spinning arrows flying towards them. He tried to push her away but it was too late. She was there. Out of pure instinct, she closed her eyes and places her arms in front of her, shielding her face.

That’s when she heard it, rocks.

Hermione opened her eyes and a small wall emerged in front of her, protecting her and her beloved.

“Holy Gnomes.” She exclaimed.

“Holy Gnomes, indeed.” Draco agreed.

At dropping her arms, the wall dropped as well. The guards looked alarmed. Of course they did, she thought, her princess turned out to be a sorcerer as well. No, blessed, she turned out to be blessed as well.

She lifted her arms again, and in command, rocks in shapes of stalagmites came from the ground and flew to the guards, making them run to save themselves.

Hermione turned and looked at Draco, slowly changing to his normal self again. “Are you okay, you’re not hurt?”

He let a breath out. “You’re earth blessed too.”

“Who gives a damn about that, I’m just worried about…”

Draco grabbed her from the shoulders and kissed her senseless.

“What was that for?” she asked when they pulled apart.

“I love you,” he said.

Hermione’s heart skipped a beat. She was going to answer but Harry reminded them they needed to go.

“Seriously, sis, I would have rather never seen that.” Harry said to her when they were already on the horses.

“Shut up.”

 

It took them a few hours, but they got to the pier just in time. At the end of it, Luna was waiting for them. Draco had messaged her earlier, asking for a favor. It was no favor for her, of course.

Luna had arranged for a boat to get them to the neighbor and friendlier kingdom, Beauxbatons. There, relations between humans and elementals were less restrained.

“What are we going to do there?” Hermione asked.

“Well, there are no more Elementals in Hogwarts, so there’s no one we can save here. But at Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, there are a huge amount of them. I thought we could warn them and learned from them as well.” He explained.

“That’s a good idea, actually.” Harry agreed.

The ship transported fish and other foods for exportations, but sometimes it carried people for the right price. Luna gave the right price.

“I’m sorry. You’re coming with us?”

“Yes! An eel told me it was my destiny to come too.”

 “Ehh, who are you again?”

“Luna. You must be Harry, I take.”

“Yes, how do you know that?” Harry scratched his head, confused.

“Hermione mentioned you once or twice.”

“Pardon me, once or twice? She must have mentioned me more, I’m her only brother.”

“Yes, she said that the first time.”

“But, but…”

“Can the two of you stop flirting and get in? We’re leaving now!” Draco yelled.

“After you, Hermione’s brother.”

Harry stared at her, confused but with warmth spreading through his chest. He went inside, followed by her.

 

The sun was setting when they finally left.

Draco groaned. “Do you think they’ll find us?”

“They’ll try. I am a fugitive now, an outlaw.”

“ _We_ are outlaws”, he corrected her. Hermione squeezed him, warning him, “or did you forget I had something to do with you injuring some guards?”

She crackled. “Please, that was mostly my doing.”

Draco felt offended, “You don’t have a Salamander’s blessing, Princess”. She stayed still. “Oh darn, I guess I can’t keep you calling you a princess, huh?”

Hermione rests her head on his shoulder, her arms surrounding his waist.

“I’ll always be a Princess; I’m just a rogue one now.”

He smiled, moving his head enough for his lips to capture hers in a small kiss.

“You’re my Princess then, Hermione of No Land.”

“Don’t say that! I am from some land. We both are.”

“Where are we from now then, darling?” Draco asked.

She smiled.

“We’re from the earth, the air, the water and the fire. We’re from every single creature that can control them too. We’re from the elements. We’re from everywhere”.

He smirked. “As long as I’m with you, I am from where you are.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed this fest more than any other I've been so far. But it really made me push my buttons and the final draft wasn't all that bad as I thought it would be.  
> Also, a huuuuuuuge thanks to Mrs. Ren for being my beta for this at the last minute! You were my lifesaver and I'm forever in your debt.


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